Derek Prince - Worship Is Not a Sunday Morning Stage Performance
This is an excerpt from: Israel and the Church: Parallel Restoration
I just want to go briefly through a series of parallels. First of all, as I’ve said, the cause of desolation for both Israel and the church was disobedience and the rejection of God’s word. Secondly, the instrument of desolation was an invading army typified by locusts for Israel representing demons for the church. Now let’s look at the motive for restoration. Why does God promise and grant restoration? I think one of the clearest statements is in Ezekiel 36, which we will be returning to later on in these meetings.
In Ezekiel 36 God promises to bring Israel back into their own land, to gather them from all nations and bring them back into their own land. Then He says through His prophet in verses 23 «Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God, I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel…'» I’m not restoring you because you deserve it. «'…but for my holy name’s sake which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. I will sanctify my great name which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst, and the nations shall know that I am the Lord, ' says the Lord God, 'when I am hallowed [or sanctified] in you before their eyes.'»
So what is God’s motive? To restore the glory of His name. Don’t ever begin to think that you deserve it. None of us deserve it, we’re totally undeserving. But God in His sovereignty has decided to restore the honor of His name, and it will be demonstrated in what He does for us and in us. In other words, we, His two peoples, will become a demonstration of God’s faithfulness and holiness, wisdom and power, to all nations. That’s a pretty staggering assignment. I wonder if you’re taking that as seriously as you ought to. This restoration is not for selfish indulgence, it’s not to promote human personalities. That, I believe, is an abomination in the sight of the Lord. And wherever men are raised up and take the place that belongs only to Jesus, God withdraws His blessing. That unfortunately is a problem that is extremely prevalent in the United States.
Then, as I’ve emphasized before, but I want to say it again, restoration is a sovereign intervention of God. My definition of the word sovereign is this: God does what He wants, when He wants, the way He wants; and He asks no one’s permission. He doesn’t say when the churches agree or when the bishops consent or when the United Nations endorse it. He just says, «I’m going to do it». He’s not waiting for anyone’s permission. He says again, the same chapter of Ezekiel, Ezekiel 36:24–30, that is seven verses. I counted in Hebrew and God says «I will» eighteen times in seven verses. He never gives any other reason except His will. We need to relate to God that way. We need to bow before His sovereignty.
In the church that I referred to in Jerusalem they have a very beautiful worship. I tell you something about old style churches, they have advantages because they have this high ceiling and stone walls, and worship just sounds really heavenly when it’s in the Spirit. One day they sang a hymn which is apparently a very popular new one, and the chorus. This chorus, I never heard it before, it simply gripped me. It still does today. It said: «Here I am, wholly available. What’s the second? As for me, I will serve the Lord». That’s the way I feel. Here I am, wholly available. Lord, I make no conditions, no stipulations. I’m just available. You see, a totally false concept of worship has crept into the Charismatic movement which makes worship a kind of entertainment. Worship and entertainment are totally opposite.
I don’t believe entertainment is for God’s people, myself. Under the Old Covenant, Israel had a whole lot of singing and worship and playing and I think that’s one reason why the Jewish people are still so musically talented today. But it was not entertainment, they were all participating, there were no spectators. I’ve heard people say, «I go to that church because of the worship». It’s like it’s a performance that’s put on for two hours every Sunday morning. That’s got nothing to do with worship. Worship is the total surrender of your being to Almighty God expressed in the acts of worship. Worship is not two hours on Sunday morning, it’s a lifestyle. If you don’t worship God in your bedroom, worshiping Him in church is just hypocrisy.
You know what the word hypocrite means? In the Greek it means an actor. Hypocrisy is being an actor and there’s a lot of professional actors in the church today who can put on an act when it seems appropriate. That’s not what God is looking for. I’m reminded of something that I had no intention of mentioning. In 1 Corinthians 6 Paul says something pretty frank. I don’t know whether you’ve noticed but the Bible is a frank book. Call a spade a spade and not an agricultural implement. In this chapter Paul says: «He who is joined to a prostitute is one flesh. But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit».
Now, it’s a shocking comparison, but Paul did it deliberately. You can have the carnal fleshly union with a woman but the spiritual alternative is to be one spirit with God. Not one soul, not one body, because neither the soul nor the body can be united with God, only the spirit. That, I believe, is worship, being united in spirit with God. And as I understand it, that is the highest activity of which the human spirit is capable. Let me say, I’m saying all sorts of things I didn’t plan but pray for worship leaders because they are probably number one on Satan’s hit list. A worship leader is someone who has the ability by the grace of God to bring us into the immediate presence of God. Therefore, Satan hates them. I love them. I basically love what Satan hates and hate what Satan loves.